Caffeine addict limits intake
COMMENTARY
Angela Campbell

The results are in, and I am an addict.

That’s right, like most of my fellow college students, I am addicted to caffeine. I first realized my dependence when I developed a massive headache during an afternoon class. I hadn’t drunk anything but water that day, so I bought a Dr Pepper as I went to my dorm to get aspirin. As I chugged it down, I suddenly felt like a brand new person. My brain was back to normal, and I was cruising on my caffeine buzz. However, I was a little troubled: Did this mean I was addicted?

I decided to do my homework and found two Web sites that offered self diagnosis tests to confirm or allay caffeine addiction fears. I first went to a humorous site about caffeine, and then to a more serious site called Caffeine Blues that rates you on a scale of 1 to 25. After taking both tests, I had to admit it. I am a caffeine addict.

The scary thing is that I am definitely not alone in this. Many college students have their own personal coffee makers, and Frog Bytes sells Red Bull, a caffeine-packed energy drink. Obviously, other people need to get their “fix” as well. I’m sure it starts innocently enough, needing to stay awake to finish that paper, wanting to hang with friends at the local Starbucks, needing that extra kick in the morning. And it is so acceptable in society that many of us never consider ourselves addicted.

It turns out that my headache was just one of many symptoms of caffeine withdrawal, including shaking hands, nausea, suppressed appetite and a nervous, edgy disposition.

Have you ever experienced any of these symptoms? Are you brave enough to go without your caffeine fix to see if you would experience them? This would, of course, mean giving up all caffeinated sodas. Coca-Cola increased the popularity of caffeine at the turn of the century, when cocaine was made illegal because of its addictive properties. Once people were hooked, I doubt they cared, and the truth is we do keep coming back for more.

So does this mean you should give up caffeine and begin to purify yourself of all its addictive toxins? Well, I would consider that a bit extreme. More realistically, it is probably best to limit your intake of caffeine to about one to three servings a day. Research done by the American Chemical Society has found evidence to support that those amounts can reasonably be consumed without addiction. The trick is too moderate your intake so you don’t become a caffeine junkie, and for our current junkies, myself included, to clean up and start limiting our caffeine to reasonable amounts.

Angela Campbell is a freshman premajor from Lake Worth.